Kosar lauds Trestman's football IQ

After a three-day visit to Halas Hall, former NFL quarterback Bernie Kosar praises coach Marc Trestman in a video interview with ChicagoBears.com.

Former NFL quarterback Bernie Kosar, who first worked with Bears coach Marc Trestman at the University of Miami in the early 1980s, attended last week’s OTA practices at Halas Hall.

Trestman started his coaching career at Miami in 1981 as a volunteer assistant while attending law school and was later named the Hurricanes’ quarterbacks coach in 1983.

As a freshman being tutored by Trestman in 1983, Kosar led Miami to the national championship, passing for 300 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-30 Orange Bowl win over Nebraska.

The two later reunited in the NFL with the Browns with Trestman serving as quarterbacks coach in 1988 and offensive coordinator in 1989. Kosar was Cleveland’s starting quarterback from 1985-93 before ending his pro career with the Cowboys (1993) and Dolphins (1994-96).

“He has a brilliant brain for the game of football,” Kosar said. “One of the first things he taught me back in the early ‘80s was protections and what the defense’s responsibilities are.

“If you can protect up front and not have to throw sight adjustments or throw ‘hots’ and then understand the vulnerability of a given defense, you’re able to really attack it and have success.”

Working with Bears quarterbacks, Kosar was impressed with starter Jay Cutler.

“He’s definitely a student of the game and he’s probably one of his harshest critics,” Kosar said. “To sit and watch him throw for three days was really an honor. It’s almost artistic to watch him throw the ball because he has such a great sense within the pocket, has such a great feel.

“Yeah, he has athleticism. But his ability to kind of feel the rush and buy himself that extra tenth of a second or two-tenths of a second and then throw the ball with such velocity and accuracy is really impressive.”